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When androgyny refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in humans, it often refers to intersex people. As a gender identity, androgynous individuals may refer to themselves as genderqueer, nonbinary, or gender neutral. As a form of gender expression, androgyny can be achieved through personal grooming or fashion. Androgynous gender expression has waxed and waned in popularity in different cultures and throughout history.

Androgyny as a noun came into use c. 1850, nominalizing the adjective androgynous. The adjective use dates from the early 17th century and is itself derived from the older French (14th Century) and English (c. 1550) term androgyne. The terms are ultimately derived from Ancient Greek: ἀνδρόγυνος, from ἀνήρ, stemἀνδρ- (anér, andr-, meaning man) and γυνή (gunē, gyné, meaning woman) through the Latin: androgynus,[1] The older word form androgyne is still in use as a noun with an overlapping set of meanings.

Androgyny among humans – physical, psychological, and cultural – is attested to from earliest history and across world cultures. In ancient Sumer, androgynous and hermaphroditic men were heavily involved in the cult of Inanna.[2]:157–158 A set of priests known as gala worked in Inanna's temples, where they performed elegies and lamentations.[2]:285Gala took female names, spoke in the eme-sal dialect, which was traditionally reserved for women, and appear to have engaged in homosexual intercourse.[3] In later Mesopotamian cultures, kurgarrū and assinnu were servants of the goddess Ishtar (Inanna's East Semitic equivalent), who dressed in female clothing and performed war dances in Ishtar's temples.[3] Several Akkadian proverbs seem to suggest that they may have also engaged in homosexual intercourse.[3] Gwendolyn Leick, an anthropologist known for her writings on Mesopotamia, has compared these individuals to the contemporary Indian hijra.[2]:158–163 In one Akkadian hymn, Ishtar is described as transforming men into women.[3]

The ancient Greek myth of Hermaphroditus and Salmacis, two divinities who fused into a single immortal – provided a frame of reference used in Western culture for centuries. Androgyny and homosexuality are seen in Plato's Symposium in a myth that Aristophanes tells the audience.[4] People used to be spherical creatures, with two bodies attached back to back who cartwheeled around. There were three sexes: the male-male people who descended from the sun, the female-female people who descended from the earth, and the male-female people who came from the moon. This last pairing represented the androgynous couple. These sphere people tried to take over the gods and failed. Zeus then decided to cut them in half and had Apollo repair the resulting cut surfaces, leaving the navel as a reminder to not defy the gods again. If they did, he would cleave them in two again to hop around on one leg. Plato states in this work that homosexuality is not shameful. This is one of the earlier written references to androgyny. Other early references to androgyny include astronomy, where androgyn was a name given to planets that were sometimes warm and sometimes cold.[5]

Throughout most of twentieth century Western history, social rules have restricted people's dress according to gender. Trousers were traditionally a male form of dress, frowned upon for women.[11] However, during the 1800s, female spies were introduced and Vivandières wore a certain uniform with a dress over trousers. Women activists during that time would also decide to wear trousers, for example Luisa Capetillo, a women's rights activist and the first woman in Puerto Rico to wear trousers in public.[12]

In the 1900s, starting around World War I traditional gender roles blurred and fashion pioneers such as Paul Poiret and Coco Chanel introduced trousers to women's fashion. The "flapper style" for women of this era included trousers and a chic bob, which gave women an androgynous look.[13] Coco Chanel, who had a love for wearing trousers herself, created trouser designs for women such as beach pajamas and horse-riding attire.[11] During the 1930s, glamorous actresses such as Marlene Dietrich fascinated and shocked many with their strong desire to wear trousers and adopt the androgynous style. Dietrich is remembered as one of the first actresses to wear trousers in a premiere.[14]

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the women's liberation movement is likely to have contributed to ideas and influenced fashion designers, such as Yves Saint Laurent.[15] Yves Saint Laurent designed the Le Smoking suit and first introduced in 1966, and Helmut Newton’s erotized androgynous photographs of it made Le Smoking iconic and classic.[16] The Le Smoking tuxedo was a controversial statement of femininity and has revolutionized trousers.

Elvis Presley, however is considered to be the one who introduced the androgynous style in rock'n'roll and made it the standard template for rock'n'roll front-men since the 1950s.[17] His pretty face and use of eye makeup often made people think he was a rather "effeminate guy",[18] but Elvis Presley was considered as the prototype for the looks of rock'n'roll.[17]The Rolling Stones, says Mick Jagger became androgynous "straightaway unconsciously" because of him.[18]

However, the upsurge of androgynous dressing for men really began after during the 1960s and 1970s. When the Rolling Stones played London's Hyde Park in 1969, Mick Jagger wore a white 'man's dress' designed by British designer Mr Fish.[19] Mr Fish, also known as Michael Fish, was the most fashionable shirt-maker in London, the inventor of 'the Kipper tie', and a principal taste-maker of 'the Peacock revolution' in men's fashion.[20] His creation for Mick Jagger was considered to be the epitome of the swinging 60s.[21] From then on, the androgynous style was being adopted by many celebrities.

During the 1970s, Jimi Hendrix was wearing high heels and blouses quite often, and David Bowie presented his alter ego Ziggy Stardust, a character that was a symbol of sexual ambiguity when he launched the album 'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and Spiders from Mars'.[22] This was when androgyny entered the mainstream in the 1970s and had a big influence in pop culture. Another significant influence during this time included John Travolta, one of the androgynous male heroes of the post-counter-culture disco era in the 1970s, who starred in Grease and Saturday Night Fever.[23]

Continuing into the 1980s, the rise of avant-garde fashion designers like Yohji Yamamoto,[24] challenged the social constructs around gender. They reinvigorated androgyny in fashion, addressing gender issues. This was also reflected within pop culture icons during the 1980s, such as David Bowie and Annie Lennox.[25]

Power dressing for women became even more prominent within the 1980s which was previously only something done by men in order to look structured and powerful. However, during the 1980s this began to take a turn as women were entering jobs with equal roles to the men. In the article “The Menswear Phenomenon” by Kathleen Beckett written for Vogue in 1984 the concept of power dressing is explored as women entered these jobs they had no choice but to tailor their wardrobes accordingly, eventually leading the ascension of power dressing as a popular style for women.[26] Women begin to find through fashion they can incite men to pay more attention to the seduction of their mental prowess rather, than the physical attraction of their appearance. This influence in the fashion world quickly makes its way to the world of film, with movies like "Working Girl" using power dressing women as their main subject matter.

Androgynous fashion made its most powerful in the 1980s debut through the work of Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo, who brought in a distinct Japanese style that adopted distinctively gender ambiguous theme. These two designers consider themselves to very much a part of the avant-garde, reinvigorating Japanism.[27] Following a more anti-fashion approach and deconstructing garments, in order to move away from the more mundane aspects of current Western fashion. This would end up leading a change in Western fashion in the 1980s that would lead on for more gender friendly garment construction. This is because designers like Yamamoto believe that the idea of androgyny should be celebrated, as it is an unbiased way for an individual to identify with one's self and that fashion is purely a catalyst for this.

Also during the 1980s, Grace Jones's a famous singer and fashion model gender-thwarted appearance in the 1980s which startled the public, but her androgynous style of heavily derivative of power dressing and eccentric personality has inspired many, and has become an androgynous style icon for modern celebrities.[28] This was seen as controversial but from then on, there was a rise of unisex designers later in the 1990s and the androgynous style was widely adopted by many.

In 2016, Louis Vuitton revealed that Jaden Smith would star in their womenswear campaign. Because of events like this, gender fluidity in fashion is being vigorously discussed in the media, with the concept being articulated by Lady Gaga, Ruby Rose, and in Tom Hooper's film The Danish Girl. Jaden Smith and other young individuals, such as Lily-Rose Depp, have inspired the movement with his appeal for clothes to be non-gender specific, meaning that men can wear skirts and women can wear boxer shorts if they so wish.[29]

In the ancient and medieval worlds, androgyny and hermaphrodites were represented in art by the caduceus, a wand of transformative power in ancient Greco-Roman mythology. The caduceus was created by Tiresias and represents his transformation into a woman by Juno in punishment for striking at mating snakes. The caduceus was later carried by Hermes/Mercury and was the basis for the astronomical symbol for the planetMercury and the botanical sign for hermaphrodite. That sign is now sometimes used for transgender people.

Another common androgyny icon in the medieval and early modern period was the Rebis, a conjoined male and female figure, often with solar and lunar motifs. Still another symbol was what is today called sun cross, which united the cross (or saltire) symbol for male with the circle for female.[30] This sign is now the astronomical symbol for the planet Earth.[31]

An androgyne is a person who does not fit neatly into the typical masculine and femininegender roles of their society. Many, but not all, androgynes identify as being mentally between woman and man. They may identify as "gender-neutral", genderqueer", or "non-binary". [32] A person who is androgynous may engage freely in what is seen as masculine or feminine behaviors as well as tasks. They have a balanced identity that includes the virtues of both men and women and may disassociate the task with what gender it may be socially or physically assigned to.[33] People who are androgynous disregard what traits are culturally constructed specifically for males and females within a specific society, and rather focus on what behavior is most effective within the situational circumstance.[33]

The Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) was constructed by the early leading proponent of androgyny, Sandra Bem (1977).[34] The BSRI is one of the most widely used gender measures. Based on an individual's responses to the items in the BSRI, they are classified as having one of four gender role orientations: masculine, feminine, androgynous, or undifferentiated. Bem understood that both masculine and feminine characteristics could be expressed by anyone and it would determine those gender role orientations.[35]

An androgynous person is a female or male who has a high degree of both feminine (expressive) and masculine (instrumental) traits. A feminine individual is ranked high on feminine (expressive) traits and ranked low on masculine (instrumental) traits. A masculine individual is ranked high on instrumental traits and ranked low on expressive traits. An undifferentiated person is low on both feminine and masculine traits.[34]

Lesbians who do not define themselves as butch or femme may identify with various other labels including "androgynous" or "andro" for short. A few other examples include "tomboy" and "tom suay", which is Thai for 'beautiful butch'. Some lesbians reject gender performativity labels altogether and resent their imposition by others. Note that androgynous and butch are often considered equivalent definitions, though less so in the butch/femme scene.

The recently coined word genderqueer is often used to refer to androgyny, but the terms "genderqueer" and "androgyny" (or "androgynous") are neither equivalent nor interchangeable.[citation needed] "Genderqueer" is not specific to androgynes. It does not denote gender identity and may refer to any person, cisgender or transgender, whose behavior falls outside conventional gender norms. Furthermore, "genderqueer", by virtue of its ties with queer culture, carries sociopolitical connotations that androgyny does not carry. For these reasons, some androgynes may find the label "genderqueer" inaccurate, inapplicable, or offensive. "Androgneity" is a viable alternative to "androgyny" for differentiating internal (psychological) factors from external (visual) factors.[36]

Terms such as "bisexual", "heterosexual", and homosexual have less meaning for androgynes who do not identify as men or women to begin with. Infrequently the words gynephilia and androphilia are used, and some describe themselves as androsexual. These words refer to the gender of the person someone is attracted to, but do not imply any particular gender on the part of the person who is feeling the attraction.

According to Sandra Bem, androgynous men and women are more flexible and more mentally healthy than either masculine or feminine individuals; undifferentiated individuals are less competent.[34] More recent research has debunked this idea, at least to some extent, and Bem herself has found weaknesses in her original pioneering work. Now she prefers to work with gender schema theory.

To a degree, context influences which gender role is most adaptive.[citation needed] In close relationships, a feminine or androgynous gender role may be more desirable because of the expressive nature of close relationships. However, a masculine or androgynous gender role may be more desirable in academic and work settings because of the demands for action and assertiveness.

One study found that masculine and androgynous individuals had higher expectations for being able to control the outcomes of their academic efforts than feminine or undifferentiated individuals.[38]

To say that a culture or relationship is androgynous is to say that it lacks rigid gender roles and that the people involved display characteristics or partake in activities traditionally associated with the other sex. The term "androgynous" is often used to refer to a person whose look or build make determining their gender difficult, but is generally not used to describe actual intersexuality, transgender, or two-spirit people. Occasionally, people who do not actually define themselves as androgynes adapt their physical appearance to look androgynous. This outward androgyny has been used as a fashion statement and some of the milder forms (women wearing men's trousers/men wearing skirts, for example) are not perceived as transgender behavior.

Androgynous traits are those that either have no gender value or have some aspects generally attributed to the opposite gender. Physical androgyny. Some intersex and non-intersex people may exhibit androgynous physical traits. This is distinct from androgyny, which concerns personal and social anomalies in gender, and is also distinct from psychological androgyny, which is a matter of gender identity.[32]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it.(August 2009)

An alternative to androgyny is gender-role transcendence: the view that individual competence should be conceptualized on a personal basis rather than on the basis of masculinity, femininity, or androgyny.[39]

In agenderism, the division of people into women and men (in the psychical sense), is considered erroneous and artificial.[40] Agendered individuals are those who reject genderic labeling in conception of self-identity and other matters.[41][42][43][44] They see their subjectivity through the term "person" instead of "woman" or "man".[41]:p.16 According to E. O. Wright, genderless people can have traits, behaviors and dispositions that correspond to what is currently viewed as "feminine" and "masculine", and the mix of these would vary across persons. Nevertheless, it doesn't suggest that everyone would be androgynous in their identities and practices in the absence of gendered relations. What disappears in the idea of genderlessness is any expectation that some characteristics and dispositions are strictly attributed to a person of any biological sex.[45]

Androgyny has been gaining more prominence in popular culture in the early 21st century.[49] Both fashion industries[50] and pop culture have accepted and even popularised the "androgynous" look, with several current celebrities being hailed as creative trendsetters.

The rise of the metrosexual in the first decade of the 2000s has also been described as a related phenomenon associated with this trend. Traditional gender stereotypes have been challenged and reset in recent years dating back to the 1960s, the hippie movement and flower power. Artists in film such as Leonardo DiCaprio sported the "skinny" look in the 1990s, a departure from traditional masculinity which resulted in a fad known as "Leo Mania".[51] This trend came long after musical superstars such as David Bowie, Boy George, Prince, Pete Burns and Annie Lennox challenged the norms in the 1970s and had elaborate cross gender wardrobes by the 1980s.[citation needed] Musical stars such as Brett Anderson of the British band Suede, Marilyn Manson and the band Placebo have used clothing and makeup to create an androgyny culture throughout the 1990s and the first decade of the 2000s.[52]

^The Symposium: and, The Phaedrus; Plato's erotic dialogues. Translated and with introduction and commentaries by William S. Cobb. Albany: State University of New York Press. 1993. ISBN978-0-7914-1617-4.

^Valle-Ferrer, Norma (1 June 2006). Luisa Capetillo, Pioneer Puerto Rican Feminist: With the collaboration of students from the Graduate Program in Translation, The University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Spring 1991. Peter Lang Publishing Inc. ISBN9780820442853.

1.
Stonewall riots
–
They are widely considered to constitute the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States. Gay Americans in the 1950s and 1960s faced a legal system. Early homophile groups in the U. S. sought to prove that gay people could be assimilated into society and these influences, along with the liberal environment of Greenwich Village, served as catalysts for the Stonewall riots. Very few establishments welcomed openly gay people in the 1950s and 1960s and those that did were often bars, although bar owners and managers were rarely gay. At the time, the Stonewall Inn was owned by the Mafia, Police raids on gay bars were routine in the 1960s, but officers quickly lost control of the situation at the Stonewall Inn. They attracted a crowd that was incited to riot, tensions between New York City police and gay residents of Greenwich Village erupted into more protests the next evening, and again several nights later. After the Stonewall riots, gays and lesbians in New York City faced gender, race, class, within six months, two gay activist organizations were formed in New York, concentrating on confrontational tactics, and three newspapers were established to promote rights for gays and lesbians. Within a few years, gay organizations were founded across the U. S. On June 28,1970, the first gay pride marches took place in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, similar marches were organized in other cities. Today, Gay Pride events are held throughout the world toward the end of June to mark the Stonewall riots. The Stonewall National Monument was established at the site in 2016, anarchists, communists, and other people deemed un-American and subversive were considered security risks. Homosexuals were included in this list by the U. S. State Department on the theory that they were susceptible to blackmail, in 1950, a Senate investigation chaired by Clyde R. Between 1947 and 1950,1,700 federal job applications were denied,4,380 people were discharged from the military, and 420 were fired from their government jobs for being suspected homosexuals. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and police departments kept lists of homosexuals, their favored establishments, and friends. Post Office kept track of addresses where material pertaining to homosexuality was mailed, State and local governments followed suit, bars catering to homosexuals were shut down, and their customers were arrested and exposed in newspapers. Cities performed sweeps to rid neighborhoods, parks, bars, and they outlawed the wearing of opposite gender clothes, and universities expelled instructors suspected of being homosexual. Thousands of gay men and women were publicly humiliated, physically harassed, fired, jailed, many lived double lives, keeping their private lives secret from their professional ones. In 1952, the American Psychiatric Association listed homosexuality in the Diagnostic, a large-scale study of homosexuality in 1962 was used to justify inclusion of the disorder as a supposed pathological hidden fear of the opposite sex caused by traumatic parent–child relationships

2.
Societal attitudes toward homosexuality
–
Societal attitudes toward homosexuality vary greatly in different cultures and different historical periods, as do attitudes toward sexual desire, activity and relationships in general. All cultures have their own values regarding appropriate and inappropriate sexuality, some sanction same-sex love and sexuality, as with heterosexual behaviour, different sets of prescriptions and proscriptions may be given to individuals according to their gender, age, social status or social class. Many countries have seen rising support for LGBT rights in modern times. Since the 1970s, much of the world has become more accepting of same-sex sexuality between partners of legal age, the survey also finds acceptance of homosexuality is particularly widespread in countries where religion is less central in peoples lives. These are also among the richest countries in the world, in contrast, in poorer countries with high levels of religiosity, few believe homosexuality should be accepted by society. Age is also a factor in several countries, with younger respondents offering far more tolerant views than older ones, and while gender differences are not prevalent, in those countries where they are, women are consistently more accepting of homosexuality than men. In the case of Sambia boys in New Guinea who ingest the semen of males to aid in their maturation. Behaviors that today would be regarded as homosexual, at least in the West. From the 1970s, academics have researched attitudes held by individuals toward lesbians, gay men and bisexuals, numerous studies have investigated the prevalence of acceptance and disapproval of homosexuality, and have consistently found correlates with various demographic, psychological, and social variables. They are also likely to have positive attitudes towards other minority groups and are less likely to support traditional gender roles. Herek found that females tended to exhibit equally positive or negative attitudes toward gay men. The heterosexual males, however, tended to respond more negatively, or unfavorably, the extent to which such portrayals are stereotypes is disputed. Contemporary researchers have measured attitudes held by heterosexuals toward gay men, certain populations are also found to accept homosexuality more than others. In the United States, African-Americans are generally tolerant of homosexuality than European or Hispanic Americans. However, recent polls after President Barack Obamas public support of same-sex marriage shift attitudes to 59% support among African Americans, israelis were found to be the most accepting of homosexuality among Middle Eastern nations and Israeli laws and culture reflect that. According to a 2007 poll, a majority of Israeli Jews say they would accept a gay child. A2013 Haaretz poll found that most of the Arab and Haredi sector saw homosexuality negatively, while the majority of secular, much less research has been conducted into societal attitudes toward bisexuality. Research show that people with more permissive attitudes on sexual orientation issues tend to be younger, well-educated, tolerant attitudes toward homosexuality and bisexuality have been increasing with time

3.
Civil union
–
A civil union, also referred to by a variety of other names, is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage. These unions have been established in a number of countries since the late 1990s, in Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, they have since been replaced, and in a number of other countries supplemented, by same-sex marriage. Civil unions are often seen by campaigners as a first step towards legalizing marriage for same-sex couples, while civil unions are predominantly established for both opposite-sex and same-sex couples, in a number of countries they are available to same-sex couples only. In Brazil, civil unions were first created for opposite-sex couples in 2002, same-sex marriages performed abroad are commonly recognised as civil unions in jurisdictions that only have the latter. The terms used to designate civil unions are not standardized, the exact level of rights, benefits, obligations, and responsibilities also varies, depending on the laws of a particular country. Some jurisdictions allow same-sex couples to adopt, while others forbid them to do so, Civil unions are not seen as a replacement for marriage by many in the LGBT community. Marriage in the United States is a union, but a civil union, as it has come to be called, is not marriage. It is a proposed hypothetical legal mechanism, since it doesnt exist in most places, to some of the protections. Theres no good reason to do that, the California Supreme Court, in the In Re Marriage Cases decision, noted nine differences in state law. Civil unions are commonly criticised as being separate but equal, critics say they segregate same-sex couples by forcing them to use a separate institution. A New Jersey commission which reviewed the civil union law reported that the law invites and encourages unequal treatment of same-sex couples. Some have suggested that creating civil unions which are open to opposite-sex couples would avoid the accusations of apartheid and these have still been criticised as being separate but equal by former New Zealand MP and feminist Marilyn Waring as same-sex couples remain excluded from the right to marry. Many supporters of same-sex marriage state that the word marriage matters, former US Solicitor General and attorney in the Perry v. Many also contend that the fact that civil unions are not understood can cause difficulty for same-sex couples in emergency situations. Countries, territories and cities which introduced civil unions for same-sex and/or opposite-sex couples, the City of Villa Carlos Paz allowed it from 2007. And since 2009 the city of Río Cuarto allows Civil Unions too, all levels of Australian Governments under nearly all Australian statutes do recognise same-sex couples as de facto couples as unregistered co-habitation or de facto status since 2009. From 1 July 2009 Centrelink recognised same-sex couples equally regarding social security – under the common-law marriage, Cohabitation grants 112 benefits as family entities in Brazil since 2002. It is known as união estável when both parts are legally authorized to marry, and as concubinato when at least one part is legally prohibited from doing so

4.
Homosexuality and religion
–
Present day doctrines of the worlds major religions vary vastly generally and by denomination on attitudes toward these sexual orientations. Religious fundamentalism has been found to correlate positively with anti-homosexual bias, many argue that it is homosexual actions which are sinful, rather than the state of being homosexual itself. To this end, some discourage labeling individuals according to sexual orientation, several organizations exist that assert that conversion therapy can help diminish same-sex attraction. Historically, some cultures and religions accommodated, institutionalized, or revered, same-sex love and sexuality, such mythologies, for example, Hinduism does not view homosexuality as a religious sin. In 2009, the Hindu Council UK released the statement Hinduism does not condemn homosexuality, the Sikh holy scriptures The Guru Granth Sahib, teaches tolerance, equality and acceptance of all people, regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexuality. Sikh wedding ceremonies are non-gender specific, and so same-sex marriage is possible within Sikhism, regardless of their position on homosexuality, many people of faith look to both sacred texts and tradition for guidance on this issue. However, the authority of various traditions or scriptural passages and the correctness of translations and interpretations are continually disputed, the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, have traditionally forbidden sodomy, believing and teaching that such behavior is sinful. The Torah is the source for Jewish views on homosexuality. It states that, shall not lie with another man as with a woman, orthodox Judaism views homosexual acts as sinful. Conservative Judaism has engaged in a study of homosexuality since the 1990s with various rabbis presenting a wide array of responsa for communal consideration. Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism in North America and Liberal Judaism in the United Kingdom view homosexuality to be acceptable on the basis as heterosexuality. Christian denominations hold a variety of views on the issue of homosexual activity, most Christian denominations welcome people attracted to the same sex, but teach that homosexual acts are sinful. Pentecostal churches such as the Assemblies of God, as well as Restorationist churches, like Jehovahs Witnesses and Mormons, Liberal Christians are supportive of homosexuals. Some Christian denominations do not view monogamous same sex relationships as bad or evil, the United Church of Christ and the Alliance of Baptists also condone gay marriage, and some parts of the Anglican and Lutheran churches allow for the blessing of gay unions. The Episcopal Churchs recent actions vis-a-vis homosexuality have brought about increased ethical debate and tension within the Church of England, in the United States and many other nations, the religious people are becoming more affirming of same-sex relationships. Even those in denominations with official stances are liberalizing, though not as quickly as those in more affirming religious groups, passages from the Mosaic Covenant and its broader Old Testament context have been interpreted to mean that anyone engaging in homosexual practices should be punished with death. AIDS has also portrayed by some fundamentalist sects such as Fred Phelps. As such, it is argued that sexual desires and actions that contradict Gods design are deemed sinful and are condemned by God, protestant conservatives also see homosexual relationships as an impediment to heterosexual relationships